Coutts boss quits over Farage dossier

The Nigel Farage debanking scandal claimed a second scalp today: the boss of Coutts is stepping down after admitting he bears responsibility for the handling of the former Ukip leader’s account.

Peter Flavel, the Australian chief executive, has quit by “mutual consent” from the private bank which is owned by NatWest. In a statement this afternoon, Flavel admitted that: “In the handling of Mr Farage’s case we have fallen below the bank’s high standards of personal service. As CEO of Coutts it is right that I bear ultimate responsibility for this, which is why I am stepping down.”

Flavel is the second head to fall in the Farage affair after the dramatic sacking of Dame Alison Rose, now ex-CEO of NatWest, in the early hours of Wednesday morning. Despite the NatWest board initially supporting her, Rose was forced to step down after she revealed she was the source of the BBC story which claimed that Farage’s bank account was closed for commercial reasons.

Paul Thwaite, interim NatWest chief, said Flavel’s departure was the ‘right decision for Coutts and the wider Group’. Commenting on Flavel, Farage said it was only a matter of time before he “had to go.” He also released details of two letters sent to the Coutts boss – before he went public with the dossier about the account closure – asking to discuss his account but did not receive any acknowledgement. 

It’s too early to say if there will be more departures from the private bank which compiled the 40-page dossier on Farage which delved into such detail over his political – and social – opinions, concluding he was a racist Brexiteering grifter who did not share the bank’s “values.”

All eyes now are on whether Sir Howard Davies, NatWest chairman, who was forced into a U-turn about Rose’s future, can survive the scandal. There is growing pressure from several of the bank’s biggest investors who argue Davies should also be sacked for his handling of the affair, not just his support for Rose but also for having allowed the affair to drift on for so long before taking tough action. 

Even Rishi Sunak has stopped short of backing Davies, due to retire next July. As the government is NatWest’s biggest investor, the view of the PM and Treasury are essential. But he side-stepped questions today about his future, saying: “What I said right at the start of this was that it wasn’t right for people to be deprived of basic services like banking because of their views. This isn’t about any one individual, it’s about values – do you believe in free speech and not to be discriminated against because of your legally held views?” More telling, perhaps, was that Sunak didn’t say he had complete confidence in the chairman.

There is also investor anger over a potential multi-million pound payout to Rose if she is treated as a “good leaver” and is paid her full one year notice period. The former NatWest boss – who has been stripped of all her various government business roles – is also being investigated by the Information Commissioner’s Office to establish whether her actions “constitute a serious data breach.”

NatWest’s shares tumbled again today, closing down at 239p near to record low for the year. Over the week the shares are now 8.4% lower, taking £2 billion off the bank’s value. Tomorrow morning, Davies and his acting lieutenant, Thwaite, are going to be on trial when they present the bank’s half-year numbers. What a sorry mess, and all because Coutts’ bankers were so snobby they feared that Farage – whose alleged “xenophobic, chauvinistic and racist views” – posed a risk to the bank’s reputation. How the tables have turned.

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